The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE” mentioning Mitch McConnell was published in the Senate section on pages S79-S80 on Jan. 21.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for this 117th Congress, the American people chose an evenly split Senate--50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. With the election of Vice President Harris, that means the Democratic leader will act as majority leader.
So I want to congratulate my colleague from New York. His pride and emotion were palpable yesterday as this self-described ``kid from Brooklyn [and] son of an exterminator and a housewife'' became the first Jewish Member of Congress to lead either Chamber--a historic milestone.
Now, the Senate has handled an even split before. Twenty years ago, faced with the same scenario, the two leaders brokered a power-sharing agreement so the institution could function smoothly.
The Democratic leader and I are discussing a similar agreement now. I have been heartened to hear my colleague say he wants the same rules from the 2000s to apply today, because, certainly, 20 years ago there was no talk--none whatsoever--of tearing down longstanding minority rights on legislation.
The legislative filibuster is a crucial part of the Senate. Leading Democrats, like President Biden himself, have long defended it. Democrats themselves just spent 6 years using it, literally, to block bills from Senator Tim Scott's police reform to coronavirus relief.
And less than 4 years ago, when it was Republicans who held the Senate, the House, and the Presidency, 27 current Democrats plus Vice President Harris signed a letter insisting this longstanding rule should not be broken.
So if the talk of unity and common ground is to have meaning and, certainly, if the rules from 20 years ago are to be our guide, then I cannot imagine the Democratic leader would rather hold up the power-
sharing agreement than simply reaffirm that his side won't be breaking this standing rule of the Senate.
I appreciate our ongoing, good-faith discussions and look forward to finding the solution together.
Our side takes a great deal of pride in the accomplishments that three consecutive Republican Senates have delivered for the American people.
In 2014, our majority was elected to check and balance the last years of a lameduck Presidency.
In 2016, we were reelected to help ignite a real, all-American economic comeback, rebuild and modernize our military, and fight for the forgotten corners of our country. Together with the Trump administration and a Republican House, we did just that.
In 2018, we were rehired again on those strong results, especially the historic job market for American workers and our commitment to the judiciary.
And now, even as voters chose President Biden for the White House, they simultaneously shrunk Democrats' House majority and elected this evenly divided Senate.
The 2020 election was as far from a sweeping mandate for ideological transformation as any election we have seen in modern history. The American people stunned the so-called experts with the number of Republicans they sent to the House and to the Senate to make sure commonsense conservative values have a powerful say in the government.
So our side is ready to share ideas and work with the Biden administration, applying common sense to find common ground for the common good. But if and when our Democratic friends depart from common sense, when they retreat from common ground or their proposals harm the common good, then we will use the power the American people have given us to push for what we think is right.
On the Biden administration's very first day, it took several big steps in the wrong direction. The President reentered the failed Paris climate agreement, a terrible bargain that would set us up to self-
inflict major economic pain on working American families with no assurance that China or Russia would honor their commitments. In fact, the United States has already been reducing carbon emissions, while China and other nations in the agreement have kept increasing theirs. Rejoining will just set us up to kill American jobs while our competitors continue to roar on by.
The President also unilaterally canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline. The day-one priority was to kill thousands of American jobs, including union jobs, disappoint our strong ally Canada, and reverse some of our progress toward energy security. This is a project that the liberal Canadian Government and Prime Minister Trudeau support--an investment in North American energy. Even the Obama State Department concluded it would not harm the climate. But because canceling the pipeline project just feels like the green thing to do, the new administration killed all these jobs. This was not the day one the American workers deserved.
The new administration has also sketched out a massive proposal for blanket amnesty that would gut enforcement of American laws while creating huge new incentives for people to rush here illegally at the same time. This kind of failed approach will invite another humanitarian crisis on our border and privilege powerful interests ahead of American workers.
For all the talk about norms within government, last night brought a truly unprecedented move at the National Labor Relations Board. The President fired the Board's independent general counsel almost a year before the end of his term. Even leftwing activists called the unprecedented move ``aggressive.''
Now, it is still early. There is still plenty of time for President Biden to remember that he does not owe his election to the far left. The President can and should refocus his administration on creating good-paying American jobs, not sacrificing our people's livelihoods to liberal symbolism. Senate Republicans will be ready, willing, and eager to help make that happen.
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